Fifteen years Le Bing SonFought side by side with the AmericansIn the mountains and deltas of Vietnam

In '75 Saigon fellAnd he left his commandAnd brought his family to the promised land

Seabrook Texas and the small townsIn the Gulf of MexicoIt was delta country and reminded him of home

He worked as a machinist, put his money awayAnd bought a shrimp boat with his cousinAnd together they harvested Galveston Bay

In the mornin' 'fore the sun come upHe'd kiss his sleepin' daughterSteer out through the channelAnd casts his nets into the water

Billy Sutter fought with Charlie CompanyIn the highlands of Quang TriHe was wounded in the battle of Chu LaiAnd shipped home in '68

There he married and worked the gulf fishing groundsIn a boat that'd been his father'sIn the morning he'd kiss his sleeping sonAnd cast his nets into the water

Billy sat in front of his TV as the south fellAnd the Communists rolled into SaigonHe and his friends watched as the refugees cameSettle on the same streets and worked the coast they grew up on

Soon in the bars around the harbor was talkOf America for AmericansSomeone said, "You want 'em out, you got to burn 'em out"And brought in the Texas klan

One humid Texas night there were three shadows on the harborCome to burn the Vietnamese boats into the seaIn the fire's light shots rang outTwo Texans lay dead on the groundLe stood with a pistol in his hand

A jury acquitted him in self defenseAs before the judge he did standBut as he walked down the courthouse stepsBilly said "My friend, you're a dead man"

One late summer night Le stood watch along the watersideBilly stood in the shadowsHis K-bar knife in his handAnd the moon slipped behind the clouds

Le lit a cigarette, the bay was as still as glassAs he walked by Billy stuck his knife into his pocketTook a breath and let him pass

In the early darkness Billy rose upWent into the kitchen for a drink of waterKissed his sleeping wifeHeaded into the channelAnd casts his nets into the water